[ 11.2013 | Death Valley ]
Dante’s View is a scenic viewpoint overlooking the southern basin in Death Valley National Park. the park is located in the Mojave Desert in eastern California. on very clear days its peak of 1,669m offers a view of the highest and lowest points of the US: Mount Whitney (4.421m) and Badwater (-86m). this terrace offers a dramatic panoramic view, especially over the salt crystal formations of Devil’s Golf Course. Dante’s View, which is part of the Black Mountains, got its name from Dante Alighieri, a major Italian poet of the late Middle Ages. in his ‘Divina Commedia’ (= ‘Divine Comedy’) the author described his vision of hell. in 1926, a group of tourists gave this viewpoint its name. it was used as filming location for ‘Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope’, shot in 1977.
‘star’ and ‘hope’ can also be related to a certain fictional superhero born on Krypton. superman is a character that first appeared in Action Comics in 1938. the figure helped to establish the superhero genre and was crucial for its advance within also comic books and other media. found and adopted by a Kansas farmer and his wife, Clark Kent is raised after strong moral beliefs. when his superhuman abilities show, the hero in blue tights and red cape begins to save the world. to live a bit of a normal life, the man of steel becomes a journalist in Metropolis. a second identity. wearing a simple mask.
though superman isn’t really human he is known to be humanitarian – and thus the perfect character for today’s World Humanitarian Day. since 2009, August 19th commemorates humanitarian personnel and those who face danger in order to help others.
sources: nps.gov | dangerousroads.org | historylists.org | dccomics.com | un.org